SIM Swapping Attackers Charged with $2.5 Million For Stealing

According to the 15-count indictment unsealed today, five Americans and an Irishman related to The Community hacking group are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

SIM Swapping is a type of identity theft that typically involves fraudulently porting of the same number to a new SIM card belonging to the attacker.

According to the DoJ, ‘SIM Hijacking‘ was often facilitated by the employee of a mobile phone provider, in other cases the attack was accomplished by a member of “The Community” contacting a mobile phone provider’s customer service—posing as the victim—and requesting that the victim’s phone number be swapped to a SIM card under the control of the gang.

The defendants executed the attacks successfully—thanks to the three charged former mobile phone service provider employees who reportedly helped “The Community” to “steal the identities of subscribers to their employers’ services in exchange for bribes.”

In total, the defendants executed seven SIM swapping attacks to steal victims’ funds from their cryptocurrency exchange wallets, transferring approximately $2.5 million worth of cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by the hacking group.